RECIPE | MEMORIES

Soft, Lumpy or Crumbly: The Versatility of Mealie Pap!

Whether served savoury or sweet, mealie pap is and will always be a South African classic

Image borrowed from Kerrygold

I cannot remember a time in my life in South Africa when I didn’t have maize meal in the house to make mealie pap.

Now, before I carry on, let me change that. Mealie pap is the accepted English term, but for the rest of this, I will use the Afrikaans word: mieliepap! It’s pronounced exactly the same, except that the ‘a’ in ‘pap’ sounds the same as the ‘a’ in ‘jar’. And you can replace ‘pap’ with ‘porridge’.

In South Africa, when you say ‘mieliepap’ everyone knows what you mean, so I will continue to use that term for this article.

I grew up with all versions of it, and so did my children. Up to just over 30 years ago (end 1994), we ate it at least once a week. I say at least, but some weeks we ate it every day!

Mieliepap is made of maize meal (or cornmeal, if you are in North America). There are three ways to make it — either as a lumpy pap, a soft pap, or the crumbly version, and you can eat it for breakfast or for dinner.

Mieliepap, a staple in South Africa, is a versatile corn-based dish enjoyed at nearly every braai…